Toner supply apparatus in image forming system

Abstract

A toner supply device includes a toner cartridge. The toner cartridge includes a cylindrical container having a spiral protruding portion therein, and a cap having a toner discharging hole. The toner supply device also includes a drive unit for supplying a toner from the toner discharging hole while gripping and rotating the cap of the toner cartridge. A positioning portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the base end side of the cylindrical container, and a recessed portion engaging the positioning portion is formed in an inlet holder. The drive unit includes a holder and a holder cover, which are disassembled vertically, a cup-shaped holder guide, rotatably provided in the holder and holder cover, for gripping the cap at a position, at which the holder guide is communicated with the toner discharging hole, a motor for applying torque to the holder guide, and a drive gear for transmitting torque of the motor to the holder guide.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A toner supply device comprising: 
       a toner cartridge including a spiral protruding portion spirally protruding from at least an inner peripheral surface thereof, a filling positioning portion provided in a peripheral surface thereof in the vicinity of a base end portion of closed both end portions, and a toner discharging hole formed in the periphery thereof in the vicinity of a tip end portion of the both end portions;  
       a cartridge supporting portion, provided on a body, for horizontally supporting thereon said toner cartridge while allowing rotation of said toner cartridge;  
       an inlet holder provided on one end of an insertion side of said cartridge supporting portion, said inlet holder including a body-side positioning portion, which engages said filling positioning portion so that said toner discharging hole always faces upwards when said toner cartridge is attached and detached, and a biasing member for continuing to bias said base end portion of said toner cartridge toward said tip end portion by a predetermined biasing force after said toner cartridge is attached; and  
       a drive unit including a cup-shaped gripping portion for covering a peripheral surface of said one end including said toner discharging hole of said toner cartridge and for gripping said toner cartridge while a position of a toner supply hole corresponding to said toner discharging hole of said toner cartridge is coincident with said toner discharging hole so as to always face upwards when said toner cartridge is attached, a drive gear comprising a gear set including a gear provided on a bottom of said gripping portion and a gear meshing therewith, and rotation driving means for applying a torque to said gripping portion and said toner cartridge gripped by said gripping portion via said drive gear.  
     
     
       2. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  1 , wherein said toner cartridge comprises: a cylindrical container, which has said spiral protruding portion and said filling positioning portion and the diameter of which decreases via a stepped portion so as to form a small-diameter portion at said tip end thereof, said small-diameter portion having an end surface being open; and a cap which is mounted on a tip end portion of said cylindrical container to engage said small-diameter portion and which has said toner discharging hole in a peripheral surface thereof so that the relationship between the position of said filling positioning portion and the position of said toner discharging hole is constant. 
     
     
       3. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  2 , wherein said toner cartridge further comprises a cover member for shielding said toner discharging hole, said cover member being formed of a ring having a greater width than a diameter of said toner discharging hole formed in the peripheral surface of said cap, said cover member being mounted so that a small-diameter portion of said cap is slidable in axial directions. 
     
     
       4. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  3 , wherein a seal of an elastic member for enhancing a face contact with said cover member is applied on the periphery of said small-diameter portion of said cap at least at a position, at which said toner discharging hole is formed. 
     
     
       5. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  3 , wherein a groove extending in axial directions is formed in an outer peripheral surface of said small-diameter portion of said cap, and a protrusion extending in axial directions is formed in an inner peripheral surface of said cover member, said groove engaging said protrusion to inhibit rotation said cover member to allow only slide of said cover member. 
     
     
       6. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  2 , wherein a positioning protruding portion for regulating rotational movement of said toner cartridge is provided on a tip end surface of said cap. 
     
     
       7. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  2 , wherein said filling positioning portion formed on said base end side peripheral surface of said cylindrical container is formed of a protrusion protruding in a radial direction of a circular container. 
     
     
       8. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  2 , wherein said inlet holder comprises: an inserting port, into which said toner cartridge is inserted while playing therewith; a recessed portion serving as said body-side positioning portion, which engages said filling positioning portion provided on the base end side peripheral surface of said toner cartridge; and a biasing lever serving as said biasing member, said biasing lever being biased by a spring for biasing said cylindrical container, which is inserted in a horizontal direction, toward said tip end portion from said base end portion. 
     
     
       9. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  2 , which further comprises: an information recording part, provided on an outer peripheral surface of said base end side of said cylindrical container of said toner cartridge, for recording a toner information including the color, component and quantity of a toner housed in said toner cartridge; and a detector, provided in said toner cartridge holding portion, for reading said toner information from said information recording part from the outer peripheral surface of said toner cartridge. 
     
     
       10. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  9 , wherein said information recording part is commonly used by a positioning portion, which protrudes from said outer peripheral surface of said base end side of said cylindrical container of said toner cartridge, so as to engage a recessed portion serving as said body-side positioning portion provided in an inserting port of said inlet holder. 
     
     
       11. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  10 , wherein the circumferential length of said protrusion serving as said positioning portion is divided into a plurality of parts to record information of the toner housed therein. 
     
     
       12. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  10 , which further comprises a micro switch serving as said detector, provided in said toner cartridge holding portion, for recording said toner information while following a protruding shape of said information recording portion commonly used for said positioning portion. 
     
     
       13. A toner supply part as set forth in claim  9 , wherein said information recording part comprises a seal-like information recording part, applied on the outer peripheral side of said cylindrical container of said toner cartridge, for indicating information by color coding. 
     
     
       14. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  13 , which further comprises an optical sensor serving as said detector for reading information recorded by color cording in said seal-like information recording part. 
     
     
       15. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  1 , wherein said cartridge supporting portion comprises: a plate member having one end to which said inlet holder is assembled, the other end to which said drive unit is attached, and a U-shape at a cross section thereof; and a roller which is rotatably attached to a shaft mounted in an insertion hole which is formed on said inlet holder. 
     
     
       16. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  1 , wherein said drive unit comprises: 
       a semicylindrical holder which is secured to the other end of the insertion side of said cartridge supporting portion and which has a chamber communicated with a hopper-like supply port for supplying a toner to a developing device arranged below said cartridge supporting portion;  
       a holder cover which has a semicylindrical shape corresponding to said holder and which is put on said holder to be secured thereto;  
       a holder guide which is rotatably housed in said chamber formed by said holder and said holder cover and which has a toner supply hole having the same diameter as that of said toner discharging hole of said toner cartridge, said holder guide rotating with said toner cartridge while said toner supply hole is coincident with said toner discharging hole;  
       a disk which has a hole engaging a positioning protrusion formed on a tip end surface of said toner cartridge and which has a shaft having a D-shaped cross section engaging a D hole formed in an end surface of said holder guide, said toner cartridge being fixed to said holder guide by said disk;  
       a motor serving as said rotation driving means housed in said chamber formed by said holder and said holder cover; and  
       a drive gear part including a plurality of gears provided in the vicinity of said chamber, said drive gear part meshing with a gear secured to a tip end of said shaft of said disk, to transmit a rotation driving force of said motor to said holder guide, disk and toner cartridge, which are integrated, to rotate them.  
     
     
       17. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  16 , wherein said drive unit comprises a screw-like feeding part provided in said chamber, a gear which is mounted on an end portion of said feeding part and which meshes with said drive gear part mounted on an output shaft of said motor, and a carrier auger for carrying a toner, which is supplied into said chamber from said toner cartridge, to said hopper-like supply port. 
     
     
       18. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  17 , wherein said holder, said holder cover, said holder guide, said disk, said motor, said drive gear part and said carrier auger comprises an integrally combined assembly. 
     
     
       19. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  16 , wherein said disk is housed while the shift of said disk in the direction of rotation with respect to said holder guide is regulated, and said D-shaped shaft engages said D hole formed in the bottom of said holder guide at the center thereof, said D-shaped shaft engaging a hole formed in a partition wall, which separates said chamber from a housing chamber for said holder guide, while playing therewith, said D-shaped shaft having a tip end, on which a gear of said drive gear part is mounted and which engages a spring while playing therewith, said D-shaped shaft rotatably engages a bearing provided in the inner surface of said chamber. 
     
     
       20. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  19 , wherein said gear mounted on said D-shaped shaft of said disk has a protrusion on a surface on the side of said holder guide at an eccentric position, said protrusion engaging a rotation preventing hole, which is formed in the vicinity of said D hole of said partition wall, by a biasing force of said spring to be positioned so that said toner supply hole and said discharging hole face upwards. 
     
     
       21. A toner supply device as set forth in claim  20 , wherein a pulley, to which a driving force is transmitted via a belt, and a pinion gear integrated with said pulley are mounted on an output shaft of said motor, and said drive gear part comprises a first gear meshing with said pinion gear, a second gear rotating coaxially with said first gear, a third gear meshing with said second gear to rotate said carrier auger and being coaxial with said carrier auger, and a fourth gear being coaxial said first and second gears to protrude into said chamber to mesh with said gear mounted on said D-shaped shaft of said disk. 
     
     
       22. A toner cartridge for use in a toner supply device for supplying a toner to an image forming system for forming an optional image including characters and pictures with said toner, said toner cartridge comprising: 
       a toner container having a cylindrical shape having an opening at a tip end thereof, said toner container being filled with a toner therein, said toner container having a spiral protruding portion formed in an inner peripheral surface thereof, and said toner container causing said toner, which is housed therein, toward said opening in an axial direction thereof when being rotated about an axis thereof;  
       a substantially cup-shaped cap engaging said opening and having a toner discharging hole for discharging said toner carried in said toner container, said cap being fixed to said toner container at a predetermined positional relationship when said cap is mounted on said toner container, so that said discharging hole always faces in a predetermined direction when said toner container is turned in a certain rotational direction with respect to said axis thereof; and  
       a cylindrical cover engaging said cap so as to reciprocate in axial directions with respect to said cap between a first position on a tip end side and a second position on a base end side, said cylindrical cover closing said discharging hole to prevent said toner from being discharged at said first position, and opening said discharging hole to allow said toner to be discharged at said second position.  
     
     
       23. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  22 , wherein said cap having an engaging portion for receiving a force for rotating said toner cartridge about an axis thereof, from said image forming system when said toner cartridge is mounted on said image forming system. 
     
     
       24. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  23 , wherein said engaging portion comprises at least two protruding portions protruding from the top surface of said cap. 
     
     
       25. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  24 , wherein said discharging hole is formed in the outer peripheral surface of said cap at a position on a line which is drawn between said two protruding portions and which is substantially perpendicular to said axis. 
     
     
       26. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  22 , wherein said cap has protrusions on tip and base end sides along a bus line on an outer peripheral surface, and said cylindrical cover is movable in axial directions between said two protrusions to abut on said protrusions. 
     
     
       27. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  26 , wherein said two protrusions of said cap are formed at positions shifted from said discharging hole of said cap by substantially 90 degrees. 
     
     
       28. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  26 , wherein a groove and a protrusion, which extend in axial directions and which engage with each other, are formed in an outer peripheral surface of said cap and an inner peripheral surface of said cylindrical cover, respectively, said cylindrical cover being attached to and detached from said cap by sliding said groove and said protrusion while said groove engages said protrusion, so that the relationship between the relative rotations of said cap and said cylindrical cover about axes thereof is regulated to be a predetermined relationship. 
     
     
       29. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  22 , wherein said cover has at least two substantially U-shaped cut-outs formed in a peripheral portion thereof to form tongue pieces serving as elastic cantilevers, each of said tongue pieces having external and internal stoppers formed on the surface and reverse surface thereof in the vicinity of a tip end thereof, said internal stopper being slidable between said two protrusions of said cap to abut on said protrusions. 
     
     
       30. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  22 , wherein a seal for decreasing a gap between said cover and said cap is provided between said cover and said cap, said seal having a cut-out which overlaps said discharging hole to inhibit leakage of said toner when said discharging hole is closed by said cover. 
     
     
       31. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim  22 , wherein a protruding positioning portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of said toner container at a predetermined position, said discharging hole being turned in a predetermined direction by turning said toner cartridge about the axis thereof on the basis of said positioning portion, said toner cartridge being attachable and detachable in this state.